Taxes are one of the major concerns of foreign heirs inheriting estates located in China. What taxes are levied on the estates or the inheritance? Is there any way of optimizing taxes in China for acquiring and cashing in on the estate assets?

Recently a corporate client from Canada hired us for legal advice in its attempt to transfer a piece of residential property owned by its China subsidiary entity to one of its employee under an incentive plan that has been executed some 15 years ago.

The China subsidiary bought the properties 15 years ago in Beijing and at the same time, entered into a gift contract…